This Is As Quiet As It Gets
by TehKinkehWalrus
Summary: Erin Grayson was going about her normal life when she find out her best friend is sent into a coma. She goes into a stage of depression and ends up going into a coma of her own. When she wakes up she finds out that the world has gone to hell and she has to fight to survive. Will she meet new people and find that they mean more to her than her own life?
1. Chapter 1

I felt my hair was finally ridden from the green apple scented conditioner leaving only a sweet scent. I turned and shut the water off and allowed a few drops of water fall off my body before grabbing a towel and wrapping it around my body. I walked out of the bathroom and down the hallway to my bedroom. I walked over to my dresser and pulled out a matching bra and underwear set and laid them down on the bed along with a cute jersey that was tight around my chest, and a pair of short black shorts. Since I was a bartender I was supposed to dress slutty. I didn't really like the looks I got from the men on the other side of the bar, but the pay was great. I dried my body off and put the outfit on and walked over to my vanity to apply a small layer of makeup. I heard my phone begin to vibrate wildly and scream Sweet Child of Mine by Guns n' Roses. I walked over to my bed stand where my phone was lying and saw that it was my close friend Shane calling. I slid the green arrow and answered.

"Hey there beast man." I greeted while pulling socks onto my bare feet.

"Hey Erin, uh. Can we meet up? Like meet me for lunch or something?" His voice sounded a bit spooked and shaky.

"Yeah that's fine, where do you want to meet at?" I asked while pulling my shoes on and tying them.

"How about Waffle House?"

"Yeah, sounds good. I'll be there in twenty minutes that sound good?"

"Yeah. See you then." With that being said he hung up.

I walked back over to my vanity and straightened my fringe and pulled the rest of my hair back into a pony tail. Once I looked myself over in the mirror I sighed a bit. I hated going out looking like this because that's not how I liked to dress. But I didn't feel like changing. I grabbed my phone and wallet and slid them into my pockets and grabbed my keys off the counter and walked out to my car.

I got in my jet black mustang and began to drive to the Waffle House I agreed to meet Shane at. It was now when I realized just how hungry I had been. I turned the music on since the silence was beginning to freak me out. After about fifteen minutes I arrived to the Waffle House, it was pretty empty; only an elderly couple and a man sitting alone. I walked to a booth farthest away from the door and right away a waitress came over to serve me. She looked maybe in her fifties, she reminded me of an older lady who'd have many stories about life. I always loved to listen to stories from older people. And I loved how happy they'd get when a younger person cared.

"Good evening darling. What could I get for you?" Her voice was so light and friendly that it made me smile.

"Can I get some eggs and waffles?" I asked.

"Of course! Anything to drink?" She began to write down my order.

"Orange juice." I said with a smile. She returned the smile and walked away to the kitchen area.

When I began to play with the salt and pepper shakers Shane walked through the front door and spotted me almost instantly. He walked over and took a seat across from me.

"Morning beast." I said while sitting up from the slouching position I was in when I was playing with the salt and pepper.

"It's noon." He stated blankly. I shrugged and stretched. I was still exhausted.

"So, why'd you wanna meet up?" I asked while skimming over a menu that was on the table.

"Did you order already?" He asked avoiding my question.

"Yeah, did you want something?" I felt a man's gaze on me and it was beginning to annoy me.

"Nah, I already ate." I nodded and glanced over at the lone man who had his eyes glued to me. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable but I expected it since I was dressed a bit sleazy.

Just then the waitress came over with my order. I thanked her with a smile and began eating the food in front of me.

"So why'd you avoid the question?" I asked while taking a gulp of orange juice.

"I know you don't eat when you're upset. I also knew that you probably haven't eaten today. So I wanted to make sure you ate." Shane took off his hat and let out a sigh and focusing his eyes downward.

"Well, you planning on upsetting me or something?" I asked while leaning back since I was full.

"Something happened today. With Rick." He looked up just to see my face.

"Well, is he okay?" I asked as I felt my stomach begin to tie in a knot and the food I just ate start to come up.

"He got shot. He's in a coma now. They don't know when or if he'll wake up." Shane let out a huge breath that I think he had been holding in.

"What the fuck do you mean by that?!" I shouted and drew attention to our table. I couldn't tell if it was my heart breaking or my stomach tied, but I knew that this news was putting me through unbearable pain.

"Calm down Erin. " Shane said while putting a hand on my shoulder. I quickly batted his hand away and stormed out of the Waffle House.

Once I was in the comfort of my car I let burning tears stream down my face. I began to sob into my hands. My sobs soon turned into painful screams. I stayed like that for about thirty minutes. It hurt. All I could feel was hurt. I couldn't imagine Lori's reaction. Much less Carl's. Carl looks up to Rick. I never liked Lori, but I knew she loved Rick. And I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone. And Carl is so young. He couldn't live without a father. A father is one of the most important people in a child's life. These thoughts kept circling my mind for twenty minutes. I was finally calming down but the tears didn't stop. It's been almost an hour. I wasn't going to be able to go to work. I had to go see Rick.

I waited until I could see until I started my mustang up to drive to the hospital I knew he'd be at. Once I parked I looked at myself in the mirror. I tried to dry my eyes but nothing right now would clear up the smudged to hell makeup on my face. I got out of my car and instantly felt the nice breeze flow across my legs. I walked up to the doors and pulled the doors open. I felt almost too weak for that. All the crying had taken a lot of strength. I walked into the lobby and saw that the waiting room had a few people in it. I walked up to the front desk and got the attention of a younger man.

"Uh excuse me." I said quietly. My voice was cracking and I sounded like a sky school girl or something.

"Yes?" He asked while giving me his attention.

"Do you know where Rick Grimes is?" I asked quietly trying not to make eye contact. I felt tears beginning to sting my eyes but I forced them back.

"Oh yeah, follow me." He said and began guiding me down hallways. It felt like I had walked a mile but I pushed on. Every step took more strength that I didn't have. Finally we got to a door and the man opened it for me and held it open until I was inside.

Seeing Rick's body lying there made a tear spill out. Luckily no one else was there so I felt like it was alright. I quietly took a seat next to Rick and grabbed hold of his hand. Mine were tiny in comparison.

"Hey Rick," My voice was scratchy and tears were still pouring out silently. "I know you can't hear me. But I'm going to talk to you anyway." I laid my head on the bed next to him and took a deep breath. "Remember in high school, when Jason Richardson asked me out, but you and Shane didn't like him so you told me I couldn't go. But I went anyway and he took me to the movies but you and Shane followed and sat right behind us. I didn't even notice when he put an arm around me until you two flipped out." I paused to chuckle. Their reaction was like a bad comedy movie. "And that time we got detention for spraying Miss May with silly string." I smiled again as tears were soaking the blanket that was lying on him. "I miss you Rick. Please, don't leave me. You're my best friend. I mean yeah there's Shane. But he's not you. You're like an older brother to me Rick. Please, please, please don't leave me." I begged as the sobs were once again picking up.

After about twenty minutes Lori came rushing into the room. She didn't bother hiding her tears or acknowledging the fact that I was there. She just rushed to the other side and sobbed like I had been for the last almost two hours.

"Lori, I'm sorry." I started. "I'm going to let you have your time alone with him. If you need someone to watch Carl while you visit him call me." She nodded and grabbed ahold of my hand in a way of saying thank you. I nodded and walked out of the room leaving behind my best friend.


	2. Chapter 2

I lifted my blanket over my head in attempt to block the sun from shining in my eyes, but sadly my idea wouldn't work. I slowly opened my eyes. For the past three days, I haven't done anything but sleep or lay in bed. I felt depressed. I tried to find the motivation to do things, but the only time I could find the strength to get up was to eat and drown my sorrows in a bottle of whiskey. Shane has tried a few times to get me moving, but it's a lost cause.

I pushed the blanket off my body knowing that even though I was tired, I wasn't going to be able to sleep. I looked over and saw my current best friend sitting on my bed stand. I grabbed the bottle of Jack and began chugging. I let out a sigh and placed the almost empty bottle on the night stand. I grabbed my phone and saw that I had texts from a bunch of different people. Though I felt I should reply, I simply sat my phone down with a soft thud and crawled back into bed. The last thing I wanted to do was talk to them right now.

After a few minutes I decided to get out of bed and walk to my kitchen. I looked for something to eat, since I haven't eaten much in the past few days. Sadly, I couldn't find anything quick and easy; so I decide I just wasn't as hungry as I thought. I began to smell something funky so I lifted my arm up. I instantly wish I hadn't. The sharp, putrid smell of underarm and spilt alcohol was like somebody taking a razor to my nose. For my own sense of comfort, I decided I should probably take a shower. I can be depressed, but I could be clean while doing it.

I stepped into my shower and turned the water on. I didn't bother waiting for it to get hot. I just want to stop smelling like a cheesy ass crack. I stood and let the water soak my body, washing away the weeks' worth of grime, sweat, alcohol, and self-pity. It felt good to finally have a shower. I grabbed my watermelon scented body wash and soaked myself in it. The scent made me feel a little better, but still didn't soothe the pain I felt over my best friend fighting for his life and being unable to help him. I put green apple shampoo in my hair and let it soak in a bit before replacing it with conditioner.

I sat on the floor of my shower while I let the conditioner soak in. I decided it'd be a good time to figure out what I'm going to do. I haven't been to work in almost four days. My boss is constantly calling and my coworkers are getting pissed because they have to pick up all my missed shifts. Shane was pretty worried too, since I've been a bit of a bitch to him. I should probably apologize. I spent the next ten minutes thinking about all the things I would have to take care of. Once I realized I had just been wasting water, I rinsed my hair, body and got out of the shower.

I walked back into my room and realized that I no longer had a fish. I sighed and decided I'd call Shane later on to dump it for me since I was a pretty big wimp when it came to things like that. I dropped my towel leaving my body completely exposed, the cool air coming from my ceiling fan sent chills down my body.

I grabbed my phone and began to read the texts. I got a few from Lori, she didn't need me to watch Carl so the messages were just asking how I was holding up. I never cared for Lori, but I don't dislike her. We were just two very different people. There were some from Shane, a couple told me to watch the news. I ignored them since nothing ever came on the news that interested me. Most the time I'd listen to Rick talk about current events so I didn't have to watch the news. The rest of the messages were just from coworkers and my boss. I tossed my phone on my bed and pulled on some underwear and a giant sweat shirt.

I walked back into my kitchen and looked for food once again. I found a pack a ramen in the back of my pantry and that excited me. I heated it up in the microwave and waited for it to finish cooking when a sharp pain sprinted up through my back. I winced in pain until it subsided. Once the pain eased I grabbed a pill bottle that had some pain killers in it. I took a few of them not bothering to count. I was never 'safe' when I took pills, but it didn't seem to affect me too bad. I washed the pills down with the rest of my bottle of Jack and grabbed my ramen from the microwave and began to eat it. At this point it had been the best thing I had ever taste.

I finished my food and dropped the bowl in the sink. I should probably do dishes but I didn't feel like it. I plopped down on my couch and began watching some old cartoons. I grabbed a bottle of Vodka from my mini bar and began sipping it from the bottle. The burn felt nice. After about half an hour I was feeling tired again. I stood up to take myself to my bedroom but the second I stood up my head began to spin and my stomach turned inside out. I felt my lunch beginning to come up. I tried to make it to the bathroom but my vision was beginning to blur and the walls were closing in like a scary movie. I tried to scream but all that came out was a faint groan. I fell to my knees and leaned on the wall for leverage. I was scared. I wanted someone here. Anyone. I soon felt dizzy and I wasn't able to keep myself sitting up right. I began to lean on the floor and my eyes fell heavy. Slowly my blurry vision went black. I felt trapped. I tried screaming out but no sound was made. I was screaming to nothing. I still felt my body falling. My body felt heavy but I felt like I was floating. Slowly my body went numb. No feeling at all. I felt trapped in a dark abyss. There was no sound. The silence felt as if it was destroying me.


	3. Chapter 3

"_Erin! Me and Juliet are going to smoke some weed, wanna join?" My older brother Austin yelled up to me. I turned the music down and exited my room looking down the stairs at him and his girlfriend._

"_Yeah sure." I shrugged and skipped down the stairs. I haven't been smoking pot for long but I never pass it up when it's offered._

"_Hey, ain't your friend coming over later?" My brother asked while beginning to roll a joint._

"_Yeah, but not for a few hours." I said while grabbing a monster from the fridge. Austin thought Rick was cool but he hated Shane. Juliet thought Shane was sexy and hated Rick. And since Juliet was here all the time I normally just went to Rick or Shane's house._

"_The sexy one or the dick?" Juliet asked while lighting the joint up. I could see a look in my brother's eye that said he didn't appreciate her referring Shane to the 'Sexy one'._

"_Both of em." I stated and took the first hit. Once I exhaled I passed the joint to my brother. _

"_What if the dick tells the cops were smoking weed?" She asked as fear filled her face. Juliet was a bimbo, she cheated on my brother a lot, she was dumber than fuck, and she was rude all hell._

"_Rick ain't like that, stop bein such a bitch behind his back." I stated while standing up to grab a bottle of whiskey. I took a swig before placing it on the coffee table._

"_You're one to talk about being a bitch behind people back." She mumbled under her breath. I glared at her until Austin stepped in._

"_Calm down guys. You don't have to bicker every time you guys are in a room together." He let out a sigh before leaning back on the couch._

"_Whatever." She mumbled before leaning back with him. I hated how immature she'd act when he'd reprimand her._

_Instead of starting an argument again I just took a few more gulps of the Jack Daniels in front of us. After about an hour I was high and a bit tipsy. I wasn't planning to stop either. I took another gulp of Jack and before too long the bottle was empty and I was officially drunk._

"_Hey Erin," Juliet began. "Is it true that you fuck Shane?" She asked before sipping on a different bottle of whiskey. She was a stupid drunk, I was a violent drunk. I guess anyone could see how those two traits don't mix well._

"_It true your pussy is a fuckin airport?" I mumbled before taking a hit of the joint and passing it back to Austin._

"_Erin, don't be a dick right now." Austin groaned. He was just a calm drunk, normally he just kept me in check._

"_You know what bitch!" Juliet yelled while standing up walking over to me. "I'm sick of your bull shit! I am twenty one and you're fuckin what fifteen?" She pointed a drunken finger in my face and began to sway._

"_Either you get your damn finger outta my face or you ain't gun have a finger left little prissy bitch." I spat while standing up. I was probably four inches shorter than her but that didn't bother me._

"_You think just cause daddy lef" Before she could finish the sentence my fist was collided with her new nose and blood began streaming out of it like a river._

"_God damnit Erin!" Austin yelled while rushing to his girlfriend's side. I knew he wasn't mad at me for punching her, she deserved it. He's probably just mad that her new nose went to waste._

"_Fuckin skank." I spat before grabbing a hoodie and storming out the front door. To my luck I was able to walk straight and met up with Rick and Shane before they got to my house._

"_Erin? What the hell." Rick exclaimed and jogging to meet up with me. "What happened you look like,"_

"_Shit." Shane jumped in. I chuckled and whipped my nose only to notice than it had begun to bleed. I was so pissed off I didn't realize I had blood streaming down my mouth from my nose._

"_Fuck I didn't even notice." I laughed and let out a frustrated groan at the same time._

"_You reek, have you been drinking and smoking pot?" Rick asked while looking me up and down. I just chuckled and wiped my nose and mouth off the best I could. It probably started bleeding from the cold and how angry I had been._

"_The fuck does it matter to you?" I spat out and shook my hand leaving some of the blood to dry on the sidewalk._

"_Erin you need to stop drinking. I know you wanna be like Austin but it ain't good for you." Rick sighed while trying to stay calm._

"_You think you can just tell me what is and ain't good for me?!" I yelled as my body began to sway from the drunken state I was in._

"_Calm down, your drunk. Let's go get you sobered up." He said while grabbing hold of my hand and began to lead my back to his house. I jerked my hand away and slammed my other against his cheek bone. He stumbled back holding his cheek as Shane grabbed me in a way that restrained me from fighting._

"_God damnit Erin! This shit ain't you! Why the fuck do you do this to yourself? First you slit your wrist, than you smoke weed, than you get drunk and start fighting. Why should me and Shane continue helping you when all you do if fuck yourself up! This ain't you!" Rick began screaming in my face. _

_Before I had a chance to think my eyes were filled up with tears and I was turning into a sobbing mess before the two men that only wanted to help. _

I sobbed until the world around me began spinning and began to fade to black. I felt myself being lifted. I wasn't feeling numb anymore. I felt like I had been lifted out of water and took my first breath after drowning. My eyes sprung open and I felt like I was gasping for air. I couldn't remember much right now. How long had I been asleep? I pulled myself up from the floor slowly. I was afraid if I moved too fast I'd pass out again. It smelt like vomit. I looked down and saw that my clothes had dried vomit down the front.

I sighed and walked into my bathroom and turned the shower on. I stripped myself from the vomit stained clothes and looked at myself in the mirror while I waited for the shower to warm up. I examined some of the tattoos on my body. I had my whole right side tattooed with a beautiful phoenix flying from the ashes it once was. On one wrist I had an anchor, on the other I had a sugar skull. I had a few others scattered around my body, those were just the ones that meant the most to me. Along with my tattoos my hips were pierced along with my tongue and ears. When I felt the water was warm enough I stepped in and washed my body to the extreme, right before I reached for the nob to turn the water off I lost water pressure and the water turned off. I shrugged and stepped out wrapping a towel around my body.

I walked into my room and saw that all the electronics were turned off. I tried messing with the switches but nothing happened. I let out a groan and quickly pulled an outfit on. I felt my stomach rumble for food so I grabbed my phone, I pod, wallet, and keys. Before I walked out of my house I grabbed a gun Shane and Rick had convinced me to buy. They were always worrying about me since they knew what sick fucks were out there. They trained me to shoot and got me a gun for my twenty second birthday.

I walked out of my apartment and noticed that it looked like complete shit. Trash was scattered everywhere, and there was what looked like blood everywhere? Actually it looked like a fuckin massacre went down. I changed my mind and ran back inside. I could just eat ramen again. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was Saturday? That means I'd been out for five days. Means I was going to have five days' worth of eating to do. I looked at my messages and saw that I had multiple ones from Shane.

Shane: Erin, we need to talk.

Shane: Seriously girl something's going on.

Shane: Are you going to meet us at Atlanta?

Shane: ERIN!

Shane: I have Lori and Carl, meet us at Atlanta.

Shane: I'm coming over be ready with your shit packed.

Shane: Erin I need to know you're okay!

After that last one the texts just stopped. What the hell is going on? I saw that I had about twenty seven missed calls from Shane. I tried to call him back but there was no signal. I went to my TV and tried to turn it on. Nothing. I went to my radio and finally I got something!

"Warning this is not a drill, stay- your houses- don't- contact-infected-Atlanta is the-safe" I couldn't listen to the cut out message it was bothering me too bad. I began pacing in my living room. I didn't know what to do. Should I go to Atlanta? That's where Shane said he'd be so I probably should. What if Atlanta isn't safe? What if that message is old, or I heard it wrong. I plopped down on the floor and ran my fingers through my almost dry hair. I wish I knew what to do. I should probably eat. I got up and made myself a sandwich with stale bread. I don't even know if the stores are open. You see this shit in scary movies.

When I was finished eating I walked back into the living room and grabbed a duffle bag. I packed everything I knew I'd need first like clothes, hygiene things, weapons, and all the canned food I had. The duffle bag still had room so I tossed in a sketch book and a few books I enjoyed reading. I have my I pod, someone I worked with made it solar powered, right now I think I love him more than anyone. Since I didn't know what exactly was going on I left the bag near the front door just in case I needed to make a quick run for it.

I walked out onto my patio, I think I was safe since I lived on the second floor. As I lit up a cigarette I leaned on the railing.' What did they mean by infected anyway? What do the infected do? Maybe I'm just getting worked up over nothing.' Before I could think anymore my smoke was at the end of its life and I was forced to put it out.

"Hey! You!" A soft spoken voice caught my attention. I looked up and saw that there was a young girl peaking over her balcony at me.

"That's pretty dangerous, you might fall." I said while stepping to get a better view of her.

"Stay there. Let me get my mom okay?" Before I could reply she ran off inside. I shrugged and stayed there until a woman who looked just a few years older than me peaked down to look straight at me.

"Uh, can you explain to me what's going on?" I asked her scratching the back of my neck. I was getting a bit nervous. I hated meeting new people.

"What do you mean? How do you not know?" She asked giving me a look as if she thought I was insane.

"Uh, I just don't." I wasn't comfortable enough to tell her than I had just woke up from whatever I was in.

"It would be better to talk face to face. Do you think you could make it up here without getting caught?" She asked still eyeing me.

"Caught? What is there like a guard keeping watch or something?" The look she gave me now said she thought I was just a complete idiot.

"We'll come to you. Leave your door unlocked but don't open it until you see us alright?" I nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

As I walked to my front door I thought about how stupid this could be. I didn't even know this lady and I'm letting her in my house. Oh well. I made it to my door and peaked. They weren't there yet but it only took a few seconds before I saw them running with what looked like a mob of people behind them. I opened the door as they ran in slamming it behind us and locking it. Both the mother and little girl looked tired and out of breath.

"My name is Jessica, and this is my daughter Dixie." She introduced us and I shook their hand.

"My name is Erin." I said while the banging on my front door got louder. "Why'd you lock those people out there?" I asked while looking out my peep hole seeing that they didn't look normal.

"Do you really not know what's been going on?" She asked while standing up straight.

"No, I just uh. Woke up." I said while rubbing the back of my neck again.

"From what? A nap?" The little girl named Dixie asked me. She was adorable. I felt like I just fell in love with this little girl.

"Yeah, a five day nap." I mumbled. Her mother Jessica looked shocked.

"Like a coma?" She asked. I shrugged. I guess that's what it is.

"What's going on?" I asked again as we all walked into my living room.

"A break out happened. It spread like a wild fire. You get bit by someone, then you die, then you come back trying to eat anything that's alive, well whatever is left off you that is." She still looked terrified, I grabbed a bottle of water and offered it to her. She took it gladly and began to sip it.

"So. What do we do?" I asked. I was still confused. Does that mean everyone got bit? I don't know what to do.


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you okay Dixie? Do you want something to eat?" My offer made the young girl perk up with a big smile on her face. She nodded her head and stood up from her spot on my couch. We've been stuck in my apartment for a day now. It wasn't that bad, but I knew we couldn't stay here forever. Dixie was too shy to look at me at first, but she's slowly warming up to me. Jessica has caught some sort of cold and has been sleeping on my couch to try and feel better. They seemed like pretty decent people, but I really need to try to find Shane or something. Jessica told me that Atlanta was a loss, the city was over run and if they did go, they'd be gone by now.

I placed a nicely made peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of Dixie along with a bottle of water. She began eating silently and I walked into my room. I had packed a few more things since I knew that if we had to leave my apartment we wouldn't be coming back. Jessica was going to try and get some supplies from her apartment when she woke up.

I watched my gold fish lying lifelessly at the top of the fish bowl. It made me sad. All I've ever taken care of my whole life was a fish. I could barely take care of myself. I let out a sigh and saw that Dixie was standing at the door way nervously. I gave her a smile and sat on my bed.

"You can come in if you want." She slowly made her way over and sat on my bed.

"Erin, I think there's something wrong with my mom. She's been sleeping so long." Dixie's face looked sad, and a little scared. I wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"It's alright sweetie, your mom hasn't slept in days. She'll wake up soon." I was never good at comforting people when they were upset. I was more of the kind of person who'd pet them with a broom to try to soothe and hush them.

"What if she doesn't?" I felt Dixie begin shaking, warm tears falling from her eyes and onto my arm. I wanted to groan. Rick would know what to say, even Shane is better than me when it comes to comforting someone.

"It's alright sweetie." I began running a hand through her hair in an attempt to soothe her. Eventually, she had cried herself to sleep. I laid her gently on my bed and tucked her in.

Once she was sound asleep, I left and walked into the living room were Jessica was, looking out the window.

"Erin, I'm going to run to my apartment okay? Could you watch Dixie while I do that?" Jessica turned around and smiled brightly at me. I returned the smile and nodded.

"Be careful. Here, take this." I said while handing her my gun. She was hesitant at first, but then grabbed it and pulled me into a hug. My body tensed up and I patted her back.

"I'll be back." With that being said, she quietly walked out the door and I locked it behind her.

I had enough time to smoke before she got back. When I went out onto my patio, I began thinking about my friends and if anyone I knew was still alive. Shane was always the type to take charge, so he might still be alive. If he wasn't, he went down with one hell of a fight. I wonder if Rick woke up and is doing okay. I know that is bat shit crazy, but it helps. Before I could think anymore and put myself in a bad mood, I flicked my cigarette over the ledge and went to my front door. I looked out the peep hole and saw Jessica running for the door. I unlocked it and she ran in. I shut it and realized no one was chasing her.

"You get everything?" I asked while taking a few bags from her. She nodded and Dixie came out of the room. She hugged her mother and gave me a bright smile.

"Listen Erin, we need to leave." I looked at Jessica, who looked worried.

"How come? We're safe here." I sighed. I knew we weren't that safe, but we could make it a little longer.

"The door is about to give in. Just one of those things could probably push it down by now and we're beginning to run low on food." Jessica held Dixie close to her and I let out another sigh before nodding.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's leave now." I knew we had to leave now before I changed my mind. We packed everything we could carry without slowing us down. I figured we could use my car, it was fast and was good on gas.

I took one last look around my apartment and smiled. It was bittersweet. I hated this place, but I loved it at the same time. I grabbed a picture of me, Rick, Shane, Carl, and Lori. It was from my twenty fourth birthday last year and was one of my most treasured possessions. I could never leave it behind.

We all took a deep breath. I had my gun, Jessica had a bat, and Dixie was just going to stay between us. I was in front since I had the gun. I quietly opened the door and led the woman and young girl behind me out. Luckily, the hallway was clear for now. We rushed down the hall to the stairs. Only one of the dead was following. They were pretty slow, so as long as we hurry we shouldn't have to worry about it. I opened the door that led down the stairs. The lighting was terrifyingly dim, but I could see it was clear. We rushed down the stairs until we got to the door that led to the lobby. I burst through the door and it felt like hundreds of the dead were waiting. I picked Dixie up and ran. Luckily, she was light and didn't slow my pace. I ran as fast as I could, dodging everyone I could. I heard Jessica running, breathing heavily behind me. Soon we were at the front door and hurrying out into the parking garage. We ran to my car, hundreds still chasing us. I got in the driver's seat and pushed Dixie in the back while Jessica quickly slid into the passenger's seat. We shut the doors just in time. The car was now surrounded. I started my car up and sped off as fast as I could out of there. I drove about five minutes until my adrenalin rush passed. After finally exhaling the breath I had been holding, I was able to take a moment to think. I couldn't believe we actually made it out in one piece.

"How the fuck did we pull that off?" I asked as my breathing started to go back to normal. I was tired and I think I may have just pissed myself.

"You didn't use that gun once." Jessica stated. I think she was mad at me.

"So? We can't waste bullets and we made it out." I looked over and saw that we were heading towards the city.

"Where are we heading?" Jessica asked while pulling a map out and looking it over.

"I'd say the woods, near a bed of water. Those things probably haven't made it there yet; and if they do, we could climb some trees." I glanced over at the map and saw that Jessica was holding the map upside down. Great, not only can she not fight, but she has no sense of direction and can't read a map.

It didn't take too long before I found a spot that we could enter the woods. I drove about a mile deep before Dixie spoke up.

"I gotta potty." She said quietly. I pulled over without asking questions and let her out of the car. I let her do her thing while I smoked another cigarette.

Before too long Dixie was back. Jessica was leaning on a tree and I was sitting on the hood of my car. Before I could blink, Jessica was being pulled and one of the dead was sinking his teeth into the flesh of her neck. Blood began raining down her shoulder and spewing everywhere. Her scream was ear piercing and I could almost feel her pain. I pulled my gun from where it was tucked in my pants and shot the dead in the head. It dropped instantly and so did Jessica. Dixie began crying instantly and ran to her mother who was leaning on the tree. My eyes grew wide as I stood frozen. Unable to move and unsure of what to do, I just stood silently and watched the young girl loose her mother.

"Erin." Jessica choked out. "Take care of my baby girl." I nodded as she began telling Dixie how much she loves her. It made me almost tear up, but this wasn't the time to get emotional.

Before I could even finish processing the situation, footsteps caught my attention. As I turned my head quickly in their direction, a group of four men came running. The first was a well-built man of about 6'3 with darker skin and a shaved head. The second man was slightly shorter than the first, with buzzed and greying hair, a slightly stained and dirty tank top, and a cocky demeanor. The third man was the shortest of the four, but still over 6'0, with intimidating blue eyes and a "don't fuck with me" demeanor. All these men would scare the living hell out of me on a good day, but it was the last one that instantly made me freeze and begin to tear up. He was one of my best friends and one of the people I wanted to see the most. The last man was Shane.

Shane and I locked eyes. So many thoughts and emotions were going through my head all at once, it was making it hard to think. Should I be upset with him? Should I hug him? Should I punch him for not getting me? I dropped my gun and ran to him, afraid he would disappear. I didn't slow down when I got closer and ran into his arms. My face collided with his chest, making him grunt. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him as hard as I could.

"Erin." Dixie spoke up running to me and staring up at me with blood shot, teary eyes. I turned towards her and she ran into my arms crying. I fell to my knees and held her as she cried. I looked up at Shane, he still looked at me in disbelief.

"Erin. Is. Is it really you?" Shane asked crouching down to me. I nodded and looked up at him.

"Is it just you four?" I asked motioning to the other three men with Shane as I stood still holding Dixie as she cried.

"Nah, there's a camp just a little ways north." He explained while wiping a stray strand of sweat.

"Ey, it ain't smart to just tell people where we're holdin up." The second man with the buzzed hair spat out while turning and heading back to what I'm guessing is camp. The third man who had the intimidating eyes followed suit.

"Ignore him, they're both pricks." Shane growled out and looked back down at me.

"He has a point. They don't know me." I shrugged and turned my attention to the dark skin man who was left here.

"You can call me T-Dog." He said while extending a hand. I grabbed it and shook it firmly.

"I'm Erin, this is Dixie." Dixie was still crying in my arms but I don't blame her.

"It's dangerous out here. We should probably head back to camp." Shane said while keeping an eye on Jessica's lifeless body. I nodded towards my car.

"It's a tight squeeze but we can all fit." I said while walking towards my jet black mustang.

I sat Dixie in the back seat and looked down at her, she looked like she could fall asleep any second. Her sobs were quiet but the tears didn't stop. I was just happy I wasn't going to have to pry her off her mother's lifeless body. I'm not sure if I could handle doing that to just a young girl.

"I'll be right back sweetie. Stay here alright?" I tried to lighten my voice so it was sweet and calming. She nodded as fresh tears began streaming down her face. I cupped her cheeks in my hands and kissed the top of her head before walking back to Shane and T-Dog.

"I figured if Shane drove I could sit in the back with Dixie and you could ride shotgun." I started at T-Dog, he nodded as I handed the keys to Shane but he stopped me before I could make my way back to the car.

"What are we going to do about her?" Shane whispered while motioning towards Jessica. I shrugged and pulled away from his grip.

I didn't know if I was upset with him, or if I wanted to hug him and never let go. I figured I'd avoid contact until I figured out my emotions. I walked towards the car and climbed into the back seat with Dixie as T-Dog sat shot gun. I looked back and saw Shane do something to the dead body but I couldn't see what. Soon after he joined us in the car and drove us back to camp.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey this is my chapter I wrote (FloodFeSTeR, my walking dead story is The Divide) I'm helpin ol girl here out with her story ao expext more from me ^w^_

So remember the whole 'I'm-not-good-with-people' thing? Well none of these people know that and I bet their wondering why I'm not really talking to them, like at all. Dixie keeps her face pressed against my hip as the women, minus one gray haired woman watching us from afar, squabble over us. All I hear when they talk is 'yak yak yak' when they remind us we're skinny and all that good shit.  
Lori looks me up and down, worry creasing her brow as she crosses her arms and taps her chin. "You look sick."  
"Ya don't say?" I give her my best 'no shit smile.  
She raises a perfectly plucked brow at me and I sigh at the way she throws her hands in the air a little. "Sorry I'm so concerned about you Erin."  
I sigh again. "Sorry Lori it's just been a rough day alright?"  
Her brow creases further. "What happened Erin?"  
My eyes flash to Dixie at my side but I don't really look at her and Lori gets the message then looks down at Dixie. I look down as well and see her eyes drooping, but she's trying so hard to stay awake. I don't know what to do here, should I ask for a tent to get her to sleep or should I just ignore it? She isn't an it Erin, my mind reminds me and I look to Lori for help. She looks to me and notices my hesitation and confusion then chuckles, crouching in front of Dixie. Dixie looks at her with worry, her fingers tightening in the fabric of my shirt as she pretty much tries to meld herself into my side. I know how ya feel kid.  
"Hi honey," Lori starts with that warm smile and comforting, mother tone she's always had. "Why don't you come with me? You look tired."  
Dixie looks up at me with wide eyes and I nod. "Don't worry, I'll be wondering around out here."  
She looks at Lori with that same caution but takes her boney hand and Lori stands slowly, leading her off towards a cluster of tents near the trees. I sigh and cross my arms over my chest, relieved to not have to take care of Dixie for a moment. I promised Jessica I woul take care of her and I will I just don't know how to. I am probably the most socially awkward person you'll ever meet, and kids are on the top list of creatures I can't interact with. I looked around the camp, watching the people wandering around and y eyes spark when I see Shane talking to T-Dog, leaning over a map they have spread out over the hood of a Jeep by their Winnebago. I strummed my fingers on my elbow and looked over at one side of camp where there were two tents that looked a little out of place, meaning they weren't eve a part of camp. I saw one of the men that had come up with Shane and T-Dog, the one with a buzz cut; follow a younger looking man out of one of the tents, looking like he was bitching in his ear. The younger waved his hand; crossbow slung over his shoulder and stomped off towards what Lori had pointed out was the quarry.  
The one with the buzz cut looked like he growled and turned on his heel, stomping into one of the tents. I clicked my tongue ring against the back of my teeth and dropped my arms to my sides, walking over to Shane and T-Dog. I needed something to do with someone I knew. I leaned over Shane's shoulder the best I could, breathing deeply in his ear and he sighed, hanging his head.  
"That's very distracting Erin," he mumbled, looking back at me.  
I planted my feet back flat on the ground and smiled. "That was the point."  
He rolled his eyes and leaned onto one arm, his hips bumping against mine as he placed his hand on it. I looked him up and down, one brow raised at how absolutely gay he looked right now. T-Dog seemed to notice it too and raised his own brow, lips twitching as he tried to fight the smile he wanted to give. But I didn't fight my smile and grinned widely up at Shane.  
"What?" he asked.  
I shook my head. "You just look incredibly gay when you do that, but you have a nice ass so that's ok."  
And of course that threw him off and he turned right around to the map, bundled it up and he practically ran away to what I guessed was his tent. T-Dog stared after him then smiled over at me and hit his knuckles against my elbow. I tensed up a little but kept my playful smile on. He wasn't a threat or anything, I knew that, but me and people just never clicked.  
"You and him uh…"  
My cheeks flushed bright red and it felt like they were on fire. I waved my hands in front of me and took a step back. "Oh no no no no! He's just been my best friend for a few years. God no, I don't like men," he raised a brow and I groaned. "No I don't mean it like that, I mean they just aggravate me alright? Like, I don't like dating."  
T-Dog laughed and raised a hand. "Calm down alright? I was just messin wit cha."  
I took a deep breath, eyes widening as I looked around. "Fuck."  
He laughed again and pat me on my shoulder. "You're gonna fit in kid, oh yeah one word of advice."  
I looked over at him when his tone dropped. "What is it?"  
He looked around for a minute, like this was some big top secret that no one else in the world could know. "Those two over there," he pointed over to the two tents that were a little out of place. I looked over and noticed the one that had gone off to the quarry a minute ago was there and wringing out a wet flannel shirt. "You don't mess with them alright?"  
I pursed my lips, watching the muscles in his back flexing as he wrung out that shirt. "Oh I am so gonna be a creeper all up in that."  
T-Dog sighed and I smiled over at him until he walked away. I let the smile drop and looked back over to the people I wasn't supposed to go near and saw them both staring at me. The one with the buzz cut smiled at me in a perverted way but I just b*** it off and walked back towards where I saw Lori disappear with Dixie. I looked around for a minute, watching everyone doing what I guessed was their job, and decided to try the trees. That's where the tents were, that's where I should be going. Duh.  
Lori stepped out of a tent in the far back and I breathed a sigh of relief, jogging towards her. Now I didn't have to play tent roulette. She jumped when I stopped beside her, not noticing me I guess and smiled, digging her hands into the back of her jeans.  
"She passed out the moment her head hit the pillow," she looked at the opening to the tent then started to steer me back towards the main part of camp. "What uh…what happened to her mother? She was asking for her in her sleep."  
And there goes that sympathy for a child I knew all too well. I knew about losing a mother, it f*** sucked. But what I didn't know was how to deal or care for the child that lost their mother. I barely knew how to deal with myself when I'm emotional. Shit, there would probably be plenty of awkward crying with me and Dixie.  
"Her mom…her mom got bit halfway to the quarry," Lori's eyes widened and I nodded. "She was resting and a Walker came out of the bushes. Bit her neck."  
Lori looked over at the tent and shook her head. "That's…I don't even know what to call that."  
I shrugged and crossed my arms over my chest. "Mind if I go take a nap in there? I'm worn out from today."  
Lori nodded. "Yeah, we'll wake you up when foods ready."  
I waved a little and walked back over towards the tent, making sure it was zipped up all the way before I kicked off my shoes and pulled my shirt over my head. I needed to change, but I didn't feel like going over to the car and getting my clothes out. So instead I just flopped back on the bed that was empty and crossed my arms behind my head, staring up at the top of the tent. You know surprisingly I could hear anything outside of this tent, and that bothered me and made me smile all at the same time.  
I rolled onto my side, facing away from Dixie where she was whimpering in her sleep and closed my eyes, thinking of Rick. I didn't see him around camp. Shane hadn't said anything about him. Maybe he just isn't here right now, I'm sure Shane would have said something to me.


	6. Chapter 6

"Erin, you gotta wake up. It's time for school." I groaned at the voice coming from above me and felt the bed indent from someone sitting on the edge.

"Don't wanna." I mumbled and pulled the covers over my head trying to block out the light that was shining through the window.

"Come on now, it's not a choice." A different voice from the first broke the silence.

I groaned and peaked out from the covers to see Rick and Shane in my room, Rick sitting on the edge of my bed with a friendly 'good morning' smile, and Shane at my door way with a 'if you don't get up I'm going to kick your ass all the way to school' glare. Rick pulled the covers off of me the rest of the way exposing my bare legs to the freezing January air that blew through the window. I began to shiver and curl up in Rick's side for warmth. He wrapped an arm around me and held me there until he realized I was falling back asleep.

"Erin, you already missed passed the amount of school days that you can miss. You need to get up and go to school, me and Shane are about to head out to work, we'll give you a ride but you gotta get up and get ready now." Rick was standing from my bed and looking down at me. I thought for a moment before mumbling about a 'fine' and rolling out of bed; laying on the floor until I got the motivation to move.

"You are the laziest mother." Shane stopped mid-sentence and let out a sigh and walking out of my room. Geez, what crawled up his ass and died? He was probably just having a bad morning. I pulled myself off the floor and grabbed a pair of pants squirming into them. I looked at Rick as he was yawning and standing up from my bed.

"I'm goin to go wait in the living room, hurry up." He began walking out of my room but stopped to see me nod and grumble an 'okay'.

Once I finished getting ready, which didn't take that much time since I don't have anyone I need to impress, so why dress nice? I trotted out of my room with my backpack slung over one shoulder and was greeted by Rick and Shane. Rick smiled and began leading us out the door. I sat in the back of the cruiser with Rick driving and Shane in the passenger seat.

"Ya know, if you don't clean up your act you're gunna be seeing the back of a cop car more often young lady." I looked up and saw Shane staring at me through his mirror. I looked down and sighed in reply.

"You're being a huge dick fuck this morning." I pulled my knees up to my chest and stared out the barded windows.

"I'm not bein a dick, I'm tellin you what's up. You're fifteen, your brother ain't gunna save your ass forever and me n' Rick need to do our job, even if that means puttin you behind bars like we do everyone else." His eyes looked cold as he lectured me.

"Shane, yellin' at her ain't gunna solve this." Rick tried reasoning with Shane, but he wasn't having any of it.

"No Rick, we can't baby her. She's out every weekend getting drunk, skipping school, smoking pot. Anyone other teenager we'd be putting them in the hall and making sure their parents were turned into CPS. She's getting it easy, but not much longer if she keeps her shit up." Shane's words felt like a knife to the chest. I wanted to get upset and cry, but I refused to.

"Pull over." I growled. Rick let out a sigh and kept driving, probably trying to think of something to say that will make this better.

"Rick, let me out now." I glared at him and he sighed and pulled over the side of the road. I slugged my backpack on and got out of the car slamming the door as hard as I could and flipped Shane off as I walked towards the school.

I hadn't been walking for long, but long enough to get lost. I realized I had taken a wrong turn and I had no idea where I was. I began searching my pockets for my phone until I realized I had probably dropped it when I stormed out of the car.

"Fuck my life." I mumbled as I walked into the 'Circle K' that looked like it was right out of a scary movie. I shrugged and walked in searching for a chocolate milk and 'Payday', I paid with some spare cash I had deep in my pocket and got out of there as fast as I could.

I saw a pay phone and said a silent thank you to no one. I pushed a quarter in and dialed Rick's number. After about four rings he finally picked up.

"Sheriff Rick." He greeted. I smiled at how cheesy he sounded.

"Rick, I'm lost." I waited until I heard him let out a frustrated sigh.

"Where are you?" He sounded a bit irritated with me right now.

"If I knew I wouldn't be lost now would I?" I leaned against the stand and began to shiver.

"Well, where are you calling me from?"

"A 'Circle K'." I was beginning to stutter from my teeth chattering.

"Are you wearing a jacket?" He asked, he could probably feel my cold through the phone.

"Yeah, but it's thin. Just come get me, it's cold." I whined and looked around making sure I was still alone.

"Alright, I'm pretty sure I know where you are. I'll be there in about ten minutes."

We said a quick good bye and I uncapped my chocolate milk and began sipping it while munching on my payday. I kept looking around and became more paranoid with every second that past. The sky looks a lot darker than it had when I left the house with Rick and Shane. My breathing began to speed up, I felt my heart beating faster and I was too scared to turn around. I hated the silence. The only thing I could hear was my breathing and the bushes rattle from the wind.

I realized that when I exhaled I could see my breath, I tried to focus on that and not what could be lurking around and corner. I decided to walk back into the Circle K. When I got in there the warmth instantly hit and I felt like my body was wrapped in a bunch of kittens. I watched the cashier who was staring at me intensely, like if she could explode my head with her vision she would without a second thought.

I walked to the back of the store to avoid her glares and began browsing through the magazines, after flipping through a booklet the cashier appeared with another death glare.

"If you're not going to buy something I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She said with a bitchy tone in her voice.

"I just bought something, and I'm waiting for a ride." I argued but she just rolled her eyes.

"Well, you're acting suspicious, and we do not tolerate thieves in this store." She blew a bubble with the gum she was gnawing on. She was acting like one of the chicks from those bitchy reality shows.

"How the fuck am I acting suspicious? I'm looking at a magazine." I didn't argue with strangers much, but there is no way I'm going back out in that cold without putting up a fight.

"If you don't leave right now I'm going to have to call the police."

Oh the irony in that sentence. I didn't feel like carrying on this conversation with her. So I threw the magazine I was reading across the room and began heading towards the door.

"You need to pick that up." She snorted while looking me up and down like I was a cockroach or something. I continued walking; ignoring her sentence and reached a hand out to make all the chips and beef jerky sticks fall on the floor. I didn't stop there, I walked over to a stand that was a bit taller than me and tipped it over, spilling a mixture of fruits on the floor.

I finally felt like I was done. I walked into the cold, not even caring that my nipples froze off. I was happy to see the cruiser pulling up in front of the Circle K. When I opened the door the vehicle I realized Shane wasn't there then I saw the Barbie wanna be standing out front looking pissed as she walked up to the car. Rick glared at me and I shrugged, covering my mouth to hide the smile that was forming. Rick opened his door and got out to talk to the chick, the window was cracked while they talked so I could hear their conversation.

"Officer, that baboon just vandalized the whole store." Her voice now sounded pitiful and it pissed me off.

"What do you mean she vandalized the store?" Rick questioned and rested an arm on the top of the cruiser.

"I politely asked her to leave because she was acting very suspicious and I saw her put something in her hoodie, then she lashed out and overturned the whole store." Now she had tears forming in her eyes, I could hear Rick in my mind mentally screaming at me.

"Well, let me see the damage and I'll see that she replaces what she broke, and cleans it up." Rick turned to look at me and my mouth was hanging open. How could he seriously believe this bitch? I may cause some trouble, but really? Turning over a whole store.

Rick motioned for me to come over, I rolled my eyes and did what he asked. It was now me and Rick standing in front of Barbie wanna be.

"Call me a baboon again and it'll be the last thing you say." I threated, I felt Rick elbow me in the side and then give me a warning look.

"Empty your pockets Erin." Rick sighed and looked down at me. I scoffed but did what he said. I pulled out the Payday wrapper, my receipt, and my wallet. Rick then looked over to the Barbie Bitch.

"What did you see her steal exactly?" Barbie was beginning to look antsy now that Rick was catching onto her lie.

"I didn't see what she grabbed, but she grabbed something. And she vandalized the store, and I want justice." She sounded like she was rambling on now and looked at the store motioning for me to walk in there. I once again did as he asked and he followed along with the bitch.

When we once again entered the store I became warm and felt a sense of relief. Rick began looking around at the mess and took his hat off.

"Erin, clean this up now. We will deal further with this incident later, but right now I need to get back to work and you need to get to school. And tomorrow you will come back to mop the floors." He then turned to the bitch. "Does that sound fair to you? She didn't steal so there's no real crime."

"I guess, but I want you to be here too, just in case she lashes out again. I thought she was going to hit me. I was scared for my life for a minuet officer." She batted her eye lashes and twirled her hair around her finger. Was this bitch really flirting with Rick!? He's married and has a son! I decided to ignore their conversation and began picking up the store like Rick has asked me too.

"I suppose I could, we'll be back tomorrow around six to clean up the place." I sighed as Rick continued to volunteer me for work I probably wasn't going to do.

Xxxxx

Once I finally got the store cleaned me and Rick got into the cruiser and he began to drive. He let out a sigh that let me know he was about to lecture me.

"Erin." Rick started, I sighed and cut him off.

"I know, I know. You don't need to lecture me." I pulled my legs up to my chest and rested my head on my knees.

"If you didn't need a lecture you wouldn't have done it." He sighed and began driving towards the station.

"I was cold, I didn't steal, she was a bitch, and she deserved it." I looked out the window.

"I know, but I have a job to do, I have to punish you somehow. I could lose my job if I didn't and she complained. This morning Shane was just upset because our boss lectured him, he can't lose this job and neither can I." I groaned, I hate when he explains something then makes me feel bad for acting out.

"I kinda figured, but why are we going to the station?" I looked over at him and saw him grin.

"You got what you wanted, you don't have to go to school. But you're spending the day with me and Shane." I smiled and gave him a side hug.

"Thanks Rick."

"Hey, you know I'll always get you out of shit, but I'm going to have to start being a bit tougher on you." I shrugged my shoulders as he kissed the top of my head.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sooooo another chap by me, FloodFeSTeR (my story is The Divide, gotta advertise) sorey its so short i had typed it up on my phone and it didnt tell me word count._

I blink my eyes open slowly, stretching out on the weird bed thing I was laying on. I froze halfway through my stretch when I noticed I couldn't move anymore, something was blocking me. I lifted my arm higher and saw Dixie squished up against my side, her brunette curls matted against one side of her head. I groaned and looked over at the opening of the tent, seeing the dancing of flames against the polyester siding and saw a long shadow coming towards the tent and sighed in relief. Help was on the way. The tent zipped open and Lori stuck her head inside, looking around in a panic for a moment before she saw Dixie against my side.  
"Help me!" I whispered/hissed, waving my arms where they were stuck in the air.  
She chuckled and came into the tent, nudging Dixie with a hand on her shoulder. "Dixie honey, it's time to get up. Foods ready."  
Dixie moved and groaned, pushing her hair out of her face. "What?" she mumbled, hair catching in her mouth.  
I wiggled out of place, falling face first onto the floor and jumped right back up. I turned around on my heel and smiled at Dixie's stunned face. "Alrighty then, I'm hungry. How about some food?"  
Dixie stared at me for a moment and then mumbled a 'sure', rolling from the bed but standing straight and graceful. Lori reached over onto a small makeshift table and handed Dixie a brush while she steered me from the tent. I nodded at Dixie as I passed and she nodded as well, beginning to brush the tangles from her hair. I grabbed my shirt from the ground and shrugged it on, stepping out of the tent. I breathed in deeply, smelling cooked meat and firewood. My stomach grumbled and bitch at me but really I wasn't hungry. Which was weird because I hadn't ate for a minute. I rubbed my stomach and walked beside Lori, looking around at the smiling faces nestled around two large fires. One man looked up at me, his head balled and his eyes ran over me, a smile twitching over his face as he tightened his arm around the gray haired woman beside him. She looked over at him with hooded, fearful eyes. She followed his stare and her eyes widened, a warning in them. My brow creased and I stuck closer to Lori's side closer.  
"Who the hell is that?"  
Lori looked over at the bald man and raised her lip up. "That's Ed, Carol's husband. Stay away from him."  
"That's the third person I've been told to stay away from," I mumbled, sitting beside her on one of the logs around one of the fires.  
Carl moved over to sit by my feet and I smiled down at him, running a hand through his hair. He is probably the only kid I have EVER been able to be around without losing my mind. He doesn't say much to me, doesn't touch me a lot and that's totally cool with me. I don't mind him being around me, not one bit.  
Lori creased her brow and reached down, plucking up what looked like a squirrel skewered on a stick. "Who else were you told to avoid?"  
I looked over at the side of camp I was supposed to be avoiding. "Them over there."  
Lori looked up and then nodded, pulling off a piece of meat. "Yeah you need to avoid them. Their bad news", she stuck the piece of meat in her mouth and turned around, smiling widely and talking around her food. "Come on honey, come sit by Carl."  
I looked over my shoulder and saw Dixie shuffling around in her place; how did I not notice her burning the holes in the back of my head. "Come on chic," I waved her over.  
She nodded and walked over, sitting on the other side of my legs, smiling a little at Carl. He smiled and waved, pulling a few pieces of meat from his own squirrel. Dixie looked at the squirrels and scrunched up her nose, looking up at me with the same look I had on my face when I first saw them. I swallowed and reached forward, getting my own stick of squirrel and pulled a piece of meat off. I didn't like it, didn't like it one bit, but I was so hungry and Dixie needed to eat. My plan worked and she got one of her own, pulling off pieces slowly and pretty much inhaling them. I watched her with a brow raised, amazed at how she was taking this in stride.  
Lori placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling my attention away from the inhaler at my feet. "Why don't you eat yourself?"  
I rolled my eyes. "Nah, I'm good. Who the hell catches this anyway? That creeper over there? He looks like the only one that would." I stabbed the squirrel back into the ground and rubbed my hands into the fabric of my shirt. I needed to change anyway.  
Lori sighed. It was only her and I talking, seeing as everyone else, even the kids were distracted. "Them over there, the two you aren't supposed to be near. The younger one, Daryl, hunts and shares with us sometimes. Better than canned vegetables if you ask me."  
I shrugged. "This is the first time I've ate squirrel. Not real adventurous with my food."  
Lori laughed, catching a few people's attention. "Your loud," Shane smirked at Lori.  
She stopped laughing in a snap and glared at him, chewing on another piece of meat. Shane looked over at me and nodded. I nodded back and stood, rubbing my hands on my butt. "I'll be right back."  
"Where you going," Shane asked.  
I glared over at him. "I'm going to play with myself, is that ok?  
He cleared his throat and looked down while everyone else around the fire chuckled. I started towards my car, scratching at my wrist. Shane was always like that, always protective over whatever I did. If I was standing to stretch he would pummel me with questions. I mean seriously, I know the world is dangerous right now but I was just walking over to my car. I opened the back door on the passenger side and bent into the back seat, digging through one of the garbage bags we had thrown in here. I immediately closed it up and threw it outside when I saw Jessica's clothing inside. I would go through it in a minute, get out Dixie's clothes and keep one of her mother's shirts for her. I still had my mother's lion shirt tucked between the mattresses of my bed back home. I can't believe I forgot it. I rubbed my forehead with the heel of my hand and pulled the next bag closer to me, smiling when I saw my clothes.  
I jumped around and swung my fist up when fingers strummed on my bum, knocking the guy with the buzz cut back a few feet. He stumbled, rubbing his jaw as he chuckled. "That's one hell of a right hook you got there."  
I took in a deep breath as my heart raced and turned back around, pulling the garbage bag of clothing out of the car. "Thanks, what do you want?" I turned back around to him and placed a hand on my hip.  
He looked me up and down with a grin. "If I told ya you'd run."  
My back went ram rod straight but I glared at him. "Fuck," I spat, moving to walk past him.  
He grabbed onto my elbow and I jerked my arm away, glaring up at him. Ya know, compared to him I am so f*** short. How tall is he anyway? Jesus. "I was jus' fuckin whit cha girly. Now seriously, what's your name?"  
My brow furrowed at his forwardness. I had never met someone like that. "Um…Erin. What's your name?"  
He grinned. "Merle Dixon, at yer service young lady."  
I cracked a smile. "You aren't the ass hole they said you were."  
"Yeah, I am."  
My lips pursed. "So what did you want?"  
He shrugged. "I honestly don' know."  
I chuckled. "Well if you ever think of something I'll be over here. I don't sleep at night."  
He waved me off and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket and pulled one out with his teeth. He noticed my stare and offered the pack and I smiled, taking one from the pack. He passed me the lighter and I lit the end of the cigarette, closing my eyes as I inhaled the nicotine. I blindly passed the lighter back, tilting my head back slightly. I looked over at Merle and smiled.  
"I needed one of these," I muttered, placing the end of the cigarette close to my lips, inhaling the smoke coming from the end.  
"Merle what th' hell are ya doin?"  
I looked around Merle and saw who I guessed was Daryl stomping his way over to us. Merle groaned and looked back at Daryl. "What chu want lil brother?"  
Daryl stopped and looked me up and down then looked back up at Merle. "Ya need ta get your ass over here and help me with these fuckin squirrel."  
Merle's face lit up with some sort of floating intelligence. "That's wha' I came over here fer," he walked around my car and I then noticed the blue truck behind it.  
How the hell had I not noticed that before? He reached in the back of the truck and pulled a large sheathed knife out of a bag. He tossed it into the air and walked past Daryl and I, whistling slowly. Daryl and I looked at each other, up and down, before he snorted and turned on his heel, stomping back towards his and his brothers camp. I shook my head and grabbed a hold of Jessica's bag of clothes, clenching my cigarette between my teeth, and tossed both bags over my shoulders, huffing it back over to the camp. Shane stood and took one of the garbage bags from me.  
"Thank you," I muttered, taking the cigarette out of my mouth and blowing the smoke through my nose. "So I just met the Dixons."  
Shane looked over at me with crazy eyes, tossing the bag of clothes into the tent. "They didn't do anything to you did they?"  
I snorted. "Shane their not animals, their just rednecks. I can handle that, I actually like Merle. He's funny."  
It was Shane's turn to snort. "Merle Dixon?" I nodded. "Seriously? You're crazier than I thought you were." He gave a half chuckle.  
"No Shane, same level of crazy." I sighed.


End file.
